Empty Threats
by My Hopeless Romantic
Summary: He liked her. Not because of her personality. Oh no, that was probably asking for too much. He liked her because she looked like his favorite character: Cool Blue Sky. The thought was enough to make her barf in her mouth a bit. HayateHotaru. #14


**Disclaimer:** I have a dream… but at the moment, I can't own anything somebody else does. :( Oh! I borrowed the nickname **Blue-chan** from Corvus corone's New Years fic: HayateHotaru style.  
**Dedicated:** HotaruHayate fans. It won't happen but there's nothing wrong with dreaming. Sorry for the wait.

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**Empty Threats**

_She threatened his life everyday but she never _did_ kill him._

_-My Hopeless Romantic-_

* * *

If there was anything that Hotaru loved more than money and blackmail, it was silence. She could have gone forever without the constant itch of her ear when she was in class with the monkeys that called themselves her classmates. And though she might've-sort-of not minded when it was Mikan blowing off her ear, Hayate Matsudaira was a different story altogether.

She never did venture out of her lab or bedroom much unless it was for the necessary trips to Central Town for her invention parts or to attend class. She'd never been much of a social butterfly like Mikan. Nor was she as loud or talkative. If anything, Hotaru understood that she was meant to be blunt and laconic. She couldn't find any other way to interact with others. What did they truly have in common with her other than the age and the potential common acquaintance? Hotaru was different and she knew it. Most of the girls in her year were smiley and clingy.

Hotaru would rather die.

She'd never been one to find it easy to feel affection for another. It wasn't because she was incapable. Hotaru Imai was capable of anything. However, it seemed like some things were far harder and more time-consuming to work at and to her, affection wasn't at the top of her list of priorities. She had other things to do with her time. Time was money, after all and she preferred not to spend valuable money-making time for social outings with anybody other than Mikan—sometimes, not even then.

So the last thing she needed was to find Hayate Matsudaira in front of her door, blocking the path to her lab. Scratch that—the last thing she needed was for him to start _talking_ to her while blocking the path to her lab. Hotaru's eyebrow twitched when she saw a wide, boyish grin light up his face.

She could've sworn something like "Cool Blue Sky" left his lips for a moment before his expression cleared and he said, "Hotaru-chan! Please come to the Valentine's Dance with me!"

Trying her best to be polite, Hotaru blinked and replied, "No."

This didn't go over well with Hayate because the boy blinked and immediately pulled out the CBS card upon his emotional-overload. "Cool Blue _Sky_," he whined, taking both of her hands into his and holding it to his chest. "I swear you'll have a good time! A _great_ time! I'll buy you flowers and chocolates and buy you the biggest valentine's card and I'll even shake the leaves with my Wind Alice!"

"_No_."

His shoulders slumped and he pouted, "But Narumi-sensei gave me his blessing! You can't jus—"

"Watch me," she fixed him with a cold, bland stare. "It doesn't matter what kind of blessing Narumi-sensei gave you. He's not my father."

Appalled, Hayate recoiled as if he'd been slapped, "But—but I had to pay for his valentines and he promised—"

"He's not my father, Matsudaira."

Hayate's shoulders slumped once more and Hotaru raised a brow at the heart-breaking expression on his face. The boy was positively devastated and Hotaru couldn't be more disgusted. Honestly, did he have to show so much emotion? She'd done her research after their sudden encounter two years before and though it wasn't common knowledge here in Alice Academy, Hotaru knew this person was dangerous and being anywhere near him was being in dangerous territory. He was in the Dangerous Ability Class, after all, and with his temper and slightly dark features, it wasn't a wonder why many feared him.

Hotaru knew better.

She was still wary of his Alice, of course. Then again, she had all the confidence in the world knowing he wouldn't _dare_ lay a finger on her in a harmful way. Not because of her inventions, as much as she would've liked, but because of the embarrassing fact that Hayate Matsudaira, the Dangerous Ability type with the Alice of Air Control and having a good four years of other worldly experience over her, had an extremely huge crush on the inventor, herself.

Oh, not because she was clever. Not because she had a remarkable personality or unique attitude. Oh no, that was probably asking for too much, wasn't it, she thought dryly. The only reason he liked her so much was because she was the spitting image of his favorite video game and comic character: Cool Blue Sky.

_Cool Blue Sky._

The thought was enough to make her barf in her mouth a little bit.

What made it worse was the fact that he had the ridiculous idea she was merely _playing hard to get_.

_"If that's the game you want to play, then by God, I'll play it!"_

It'd been a year and a half after that proclamation and Hayate still didn't seem the least deterred. He'd be turning seventeen in a week and last October, she'd turned twelve. How desperate could the boy get?

"One date, that's all I ask!"

_… Apparently, very desperate_, Hotaru mused.

He seemed to be over the fact that Narumi wasn't her father because he took her hands, ignoring her wince and look of disdain before chirping, "I really, really like you."

She tugged her hands out of his grip, or at least, attempted to but Hayate held fast with a determined, pleading pout on his face. "Let go of me."

"Not until you agree, I won't," Hayate promised stubbornly, tightening his grip on her small hands, eyes drifting over her flawless, Cool Blue Sky features. His eyes seemed to glaze at the resemblance once more before he blinked at her deathly murmur.

"If you don't let go of me, I will kill you."

"You'll kill me." Hayate had an amused expression on his face, affection lacing his blunt repetition. "Cool Blue Sky's famous line is _'I will kill you because no one is innocent!'_"

Hotaru's eyebrow twitched and Hayate's grin widened. "If you want me to let you go, agree to go to the Valentine's Dance with me, Hotaru-chan."

"No," she bit out through gritted teeth. "When you let your guard down, I will blow your head apart with my Baka Gu—"

"Gun?" Hayate laughed. "It wasn't very effective two years ago and I doubt it'll be effective now, CBS-chan. Besides, I'd be heartbroken if I didn't get to have a dance with you at the dance on Saturday…"

"I don't care," she returned bluntly, refusing to renew her struggle within his tight grip. "Your heartbreak is my eternal wish. I'll have you know, my Baka Guns have been upgraded to shoot faster and harder and with deathly precision."

He blinked as if in a daze, "I love it when you talk dirty."

All logic abandoned, Hotaru kicked him in between the legs and watched him crumble to the ground, clutching his grapes. Ignoring the _ow, ouchh's_ from Hayate, Hotaru nudged him away with her foot and walked into her lab, clasping the locks with a triumphant smirk.

"Cool Blu—" he paused, rethinking his words before rephrasing, "Hotaru-chan, give it some thought! You won't have to find me, I'll find _you_ and I'll pick you up at seven!"

She heard him groan and rolled her eyes. "Come and I'll kill you."

* * *

He came anyway, like he always did. It was Saturday evening and Hotaru blinked down at her ratchet when a _ratta-tap-tap_ echoed from the door into her lab. She blinked, her grip immediately tightening on the socket wrench to stare blandly at the door as if it had come to life. Silence ensued and she turned back to her work bench, picking up a specialized bolt with slim, dainty fingers. Her inspection of the item was cut short at another series of knocks.

She scowled, continuing to ignore the knocks, as her fingers fitted the bolt between two pieces of heavy, resistant metal. The cry of "Hotaru-chan!" and the drawn out last syllable made her fingers clench and the bolt flew through the air to clatter onto the ground. Her eyes gleamed with annoyance with another loud repetition of her name and pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger, Hotaru stood up, grabbed her Baka Gun leaning against the wall adjacent to the door, slid the locks open and wrenched the door open. Without skipping a beat, she fired.

Three times.

He stood tall as the smoke cleared, unscathed.

Hotaru narrowed her eyes. "What do you want?"

He seemed to have the word "you" on the tip of his tongue but instead, presented with a flourish, a bouquet of color-enhanced roses to her. They were a shade darker than sky blue, all intricately placed and blooming.

_Beautiful._

Hotaru narrowed her eyes and watched as Hayate's face split into a sheepish, albeit annoyingly handsome grin. "They're for you, Blue-chan," he shook them a little.

_Blue… chan?_

Hotaru's eyes glinted and she resisted the urge to growl.

He would die.

Without an invitation, Hayate stepped through the doorway and into her lab, laying the bouquet on her workbench before inspecting the room. "I talked to Narumi-sensei the other day—"

_For God's sake, he isn't my father!_

"—and he told me you were Subaru-san's sister."

Hotaru stiffened, her back ramrod straight before she turned, eyes dark with annoyance, "_What_?"

"Your brother," Hayate repeated, scratching the back of his head. "The healer, you know? Good guy," he commented with a small grin on his face. "Sometimes it sounds like he has a stick up his arse though."

"He's not my brother," was her automatic response.

Hayate laughed, the sound surprisingly deep. "He said you'd say something like that," Hayate commented, resting the palms of his hands on the back of his head nonchalantly. "So when are you going to tell him about me?"

"Why," Hotaru's eye twitched, "—would I do something stupid like that?"

"You're not ashamed of me are you?" Hayate's grin slipped. "It's not like he'd make a big deal about it. He's a healer for—"

"You're going to die," Hotaru hissed darkly, her fingers itching. "Are you stupid?"

Hayate rolled his eyes. "He's a freakin' _healer_, Hotaru-chan. What's he going to do, heal me to death? He does that enough as it is."

"I wasn't talking about _him_," Hotaru growled. "_I_ am going to kill you."

He waved a hand in the air, undeterred. "Li-_arrrr_," he sang. He flashed one of his one-hundred watt smiles before taking three steps closer until they were nose-to-nose, or rather chest-to-nose, smiling, "I don't believe you'd ever hurt me."

Blinking rapidly, he interrupted anything she'd been about to say with his offhand comment, "You've been saying that for years, Blue-chan. You say you'll kill me but I know you can't. You're just full of empty threats."

"Care to repeat that?" Hotaru growled darkly, arms tingling with electricity. "I didn't think you were that stupid but a moment ago, I opened fire on you." Her knuckles cracked loudly as if to reinforce her words. "Let's make this clear: I don't like you. In any way."

"Open fire?" he furrowed his brows. "Oh! You mean the gun?"

"Yes, I'm talking about the gun," she grated irritably, folding her arms. She hated standing so close to him. Craning her neck to glare at him was not worth the effort but at straining times where he was being a cocky _bastard_, desperate times called for desperate measures.

He hummed happily for a brief moment, grey eyes sparkling with amusement. "I've come to accept it. It's the only way you know how to show your affection. I _understand_," he shrugged, speaking as if she were some kind of retarded child. "Our love is strong enough to overcome anything! I couldn't possibly think of leaving you for something as juvenile as _that_."

Hotaru's eyes narrowed, voice as cold as winter. "What about the fact that I _hate_ you? Or the fact that I want to kill you every time you say something disgustingl—"

"You can threaten me on our way to the dance," Hayate interrupted, taking her arm and leading her to the door. "You look great, by the way," he grinned wolfishly, sending her a sidelong glance, "Very you."

She wrenched her arm away, hand searching for the handle of her gun. "I'm in my uniform," she griped impatiently, eyeing his innocent demeanor warily. She touched cold metal.

_Nice._

"That's when you look the most beautiful," he shrugged. His eyes brightened a second later when he reiterated, "You'd look even more beautiful with Cool Blue Sky's fighting costume…"

She fired.

She didn't miss.

When the smoke cleared, he was sprawled on the ground with a dark, angry red mark on his cheek, a dazed expression etched on his face and messy hair even more tousled than usual.

"I'm not going to the dance with you."

"But—!"

"One more word and I'll kill you," she promised darkly, her temple twitching with an angry throb. The latch on her Baka Gun clicked ominously in the dark corridor and Hayate rubbed his cheek with a small pout on his face.

"We've talked about this before, Coo—Hotaru-chan," he grumbled, slightly exasperated. "I know you. If hitting me is the only way you can show your love, then I'll take it!"

She fired two more times and judging by the groans of pain, she'd hit the target. Hotaru smirked.

Ignoring Hayate's small curse of objection, she slammed the door shut, bolted the four locks, leaned her gun against the wall adjacent to the door and sat at her desk, eyeing the bouquet of blue roses with a critical eye.

_Empty threats?_ She scoffed. Rolling her eyes, she picked up another bolt and placed it securely in between the two metal slabs. "Hotaru-channn!"

The bolt flew.

And at the end of the day, after she'd fired at him a dozen or so more times, Hayate couldn't help the slow, boyish grin from spreading over his face.

She still hadn't killed him.

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**Yes, I'm perfectly aware that this was a long time coming. I'm sorry for the long wait and I'm perfectly aware this is really OOC for Hotaru but you know what? I like it, ha! Hayate pwns! Oh, and be nice and review? Thanks for reading!**

_My Hopeless Romantic_


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